Accounts and Images of Six Kannon in Japan / Sherry D. Fowler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fowler, Sherry D., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Avalokiteśvara (Buddhist deity)--Art.

Avalokiteśvara.

Avalokiteśvara (Buddhist deity)--Cult--Japan.

Buddhist gods in art.

Buddhist art--Japan.

Buddhist art.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (457 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : color illustrations, tables

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, [2016]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Buddhists around the world celebrate the benefits of worshipping Kannon (Avalokiteśvara), a compassionate savior who is one of the most beloved in the Buddhist pantheon. When Kannon appears in multiple manifestations, the deity's powers are believed to increase to even greater heights. This concept generated several cults throughout history: among the most significant is the cult of the Six Kannon, which began in Japan in the tenth century and remained prominent through the sixteenth century. In this ambitious work, Sherry Fowler examines the development of the Japanese Six Kannon cult, its sculptures and paintings, and its transition to the Thirty-three Kannon cult, which remains active to this day.An exemplar of Six Kannon imagery is the complete set of life-size wooden sculptures made in 1224 and housed at the Kyoto temple Daihōonji. This set, along with others, is analyzed to demonstrate how Six Kannon worship impacted Buddhist practice. Employing a diachronic approach, Fowler presents case studies beginning in the eleventh century to reinstate a context for sets of Six Kannon, the majority of which have been lost or scattered, and thus illuminates the vibrancy, magnitude, and distribution of the cult and enhances our knowledge of religious image-making in Japan.Kannon's role in assisting beings trapped in the six paths of transmigration is a well-documented catalyst for the selection of the number six, but there are other significant themes at work. Six Kannon worship includes significant foci on worldly concerns such as childbirth and animal husbandry, ties between text and image, and numerous correlations with Shinto kami groups of six. While making groups of Kannon visible, Fowler explores the fluidity of numerical deity categorizations and the attempts to quantify the invisible. Moreover, her investigation reveals Kyushu as an especially active site in the history of the Six Kannon cult. Much as Kannon images once functioned to attract worshippers, their presentation in this book will entice contemporary readers to revisit their assumptions about East Asia's most popular Buddhist deity.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Tables

Acknowledgments

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE. Reconstructing Six Kannon from the Tenth to the Twelfth Centuries

CHAPTER TWO. A Vision at Six Kannon Lake and Six Kannon/Six Kami in Kyushu

CHAPTER THREE. Traveling Sets and Ritual Performance

CHAPTER FOUR. The Six-Syllable Sutra Ritual Mandala and the Six Kannon

CHAPTER FIVE. Painting the Six Kannon

CHAPTER SIX. Bodies and Benefits: From Six to Thirty-Three Kannon

EPILOGUE. Searching for Stones in the Unstable Landscape of Kannon

Appendix: Inscriptions

Abbreviations

Notes

Character Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2016.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 28. Aug 2019)

ISBN:

9780824872977

0824872975

9780824856250

0824856252

9780824856236

0824856236

OCLC:

964548013